In recent years, engineering efforts in automobile safety systems have increasingly focused on inflatable restraint devices and methods/systems for their deployment. Of particular interest to designers are methods of folding the inflatable device or airbag to optimize the manner in which it deploys. Designs differ among the different types of airbags, for example, driver side, passenger side and side-impact airbags offer varying optimal deployment characteristics. Moreover, different vehicle structures as well as size and type of inflatable restraint apparatuses all provide different, sometimes competing considerations when developing airbag fold designs. For example, children or other relatively small occupants may have different requirements than larger occupants when it comes to optimizing vehicle safety systems. Complicating matters further, occupants may be out of a normal riding position during airbag deployment. There are thus continuing challenges to engineering broadly applicable systems that will operate effectively in view of the broad range of vehicle and occupant characteristics.